DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Minus the tribal dances and motifs, the opening ceremony for Kadayawan Festival 2020 held in front of the Davao City Hall was brief and simple in observance of quarantine protocols due to the pandemic.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio led the opening ceremony early morning at the flag ceremony in front of City Hall.
The mayor was joined by deputy mayors of the 11 tribes in the city, they held a prayer offering for the event, which was followed by the traditional banging of the gong by the mayor to signal the start of the Kadayawan
This year’s 35th Kadayawan Festival will be the first festival in the country to launch a digital celebration of what is considered one of the most colorful festivals in the country.
The festival for the past decades feature competition of schools and performing groups nationwide in tribal dances, float parade and exhibits of Davao’s tribes.
The public will view this year’s festival online that will feature as retrospect of performers in the past Kadayawan festivals, as well as competitions to be held online for this year.
“This is our opening for the Kadayawan this year and all our activities are in digital form, so it’s all online. Everyone can participate and it will have a wider audience because we are on the internet,” the mayor said.
Duterte-Carpio encouraged the public to hold their celebrations in their homes and watch various digital activities prepared by the city government. She also encouraged the parents to further explain the essence of Kadayawan Festival and why Davaoenos should be thankful.
“Make their own activities especially for the children to understand why we celebrate Kadayawan,” she said. (davaotoday.com)
